Western Australia's Environment Minister has been unable to confirm whether it is safe to swim or fish in Cockburn Sound due to potential contamination from toxic firefighting chemicals used on the HMAS Stirling naval base.

In response to questions about the safety of the sound, Albert Jacob referred the ABC to an environmental monitoring report published in September 2016 which showed the waters were suitable for recreational activity.

That is because Mr Jacob's Department of Environment Regulation (DER) was not alerted by the Department of Defence to high levels of contamination at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island until October 21 of this year.

Defence has recently begun an extensive environmental investigation into contamination, looking at whether contaminated water could have leached into Cockburn Sound.

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